Different styles of writing to use

HOLIDAY time where touch this and that. We start today’s issue by reminding ourselves with things like abbreviations in common use. We always see these but never bother to find out their significance or what they mean. S O S — Save our Souls (a distress signal). S R N — State Registered Nurse. Ph.D. — Doctor of Philosophy; P.S —(post script) written after; U.F.O –Unidentified flying object.

UNESCO — United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organisation; W.H. O.- World Health Organisation; U.N. D. P. —United Nations Development Programme; UNICEF — United Nations International Children’s Emergence Fund’ Y. W. C. A. — Young Women’s Christian Association, Y M. C. A. — Young Men’s Christian Association M.A — Master of Arts, LLB —Bachelor of Laws; LL.D. Doctor of Laws.

Note that all those listed above relate people and their wellbeing and you are likely to always come across them. You always meet the following: cm – centimetre, km – kilometre, kw – kilowatt (1000 watts) units of power; L.C. M. – Lowest common multiple, kg –kilogramme; mm – millimetre; M. O. H — Medical Officer of Health and m²— square metre Messrs — Gentlemen; N.B — (nota bene) note well.

As a keen English language pupil or student it is up to you now to find out more on these abbreviations and what they mean and their use. 

With no exception our focus on this page is to help you learners improve your writing skills in order to achieve high grades in your examinations. You can be asked to write texts in different forms.

If you are asked to write a particular type of test, you will need to use the right style and structure. For example letters can be formal or informal. Letters are a common type of non-fiction text. They can be to one person or to a group of people. Informal letters — these are the kind of letters that you would send to a friend or a relative. You can use a chatty style if it seems suitable, but do not use slang – stick to standard English.

Examiners love or prefer standard English to the former. Using standard English means following some simple rules. Do not write the informal words you would say when talking to your mates, for example putting “like” after sentences. 

Do not use slang or local dialect words that some people might not understand. Do not use clichés (corny phrases that people use all the time), for example, at the end of the day. Use correct spelling and grammar.

Avoid these common mistakes: Rule: Do not put the word “them” in front of names of objects — always use those. For example it is wrong to say, “Let me see them fish”. But is correct to say, ‘Let me see those fish”. Rule: “who” is used to talk about people. “That ‘or “which” is used for everything else. He brought along a boy who later killed him. He met an elephant that attacked him.

Unless you want to get really technical either “that” or “which” is fine. Rule: Do not write “like” when you mean “as”. And do not put “like” at the end of sentences. The child did like his father told him. This is incorrect. But it is correct to say: “The boy did as his father told him.” Use standard English for most tasks.

After a little bit of digression let us go back to where we started. Formal letters- the tone and language should be more serious. Examples include job applications. 

Remember to give letters a clear structure (include a greeting a separate paragraph for each point). Letters can have many different purposes. For example, they can be informative — for example a letter to a local newspaper that gives readers information about a fund-raising event you have organised.

Letters can be persuasive. For example, a letter to a friend to persuade them to run for president for the quiz club at your school. Writing a talk or a speech calls for a slightly different approach from other forms of             writing. 

Talks and speeches are designed to be spoken. You might have to write down the text for a talk or a speech. Your audience would not have the words written down in front of them, so make it memorable.

 Make sure you write in a style that would sound good to a room full of listeners. The tone might be formal or informal depending on your audience. You should include some rhetorical devices to jeep things interesting. These will also help your message to stick in the audience’s heads. Speeches should have a clear structure. 

Start with a summary of what you are going to talk about to introduce the topic. When you have finished the main part of the talk, finish with another summary. To remind the audience of what they have been told.

Always make your writing organised and interesting. Whatever form or text you are writing, you will be marked on: how well you organise and communicate the information and the quality of your writing. 

This means you need to structure your writing using paragraphs and well-connected sentences.

Always write in a way that will interest your readers- formal does not mean boring, and informal does not mean sloppy. 

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